Trust no one. Unless it’s Fox when they decided to bring back their iconic ’90s hit “The X-Files.”
Fox’s paranormal mystery series, which ran from 1993 to 2002, was a critical and ratings sensation, spawning an entire franchise and becoming iconic in its own right in the ’90s.
Centering around the continued investigations and adventures of FBI agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), who believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life, and his partner, fellow agent and doctor Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), “The X-Files” built a beautifully complex mythology over its nine years on air, and its revival is already looking more than promising.
Mulder and Scully are the original Castle and Beckett (Castle), Booth and Brennan (Bones) and Tony and Ziva (NCIS). They were each other’s perfect foils, yet alike in all the ways that mattered. Their budding friendship turned slow-burning romance is one of the most well-known television relationships in history. Scully was the perfect skeptic to counter Mulder’s unwavering belief.
Yet despite these differences, the bond they developed ran deep, and absolutely resonated with its audience.
“The end of my world was unrecognizable and upside down,” Mulder said to Scully in a season seven episode. “There was one thing that remained the same. You were my friend, and you told me the truth. Even when the world was falling apart, you were my constant. My touchstone.”
This honest, unconditional love, is what television shipper dreams are made of.
Scully was also a revolutionary female character in her time. The ’80s and ’90s marked a turning point for the portrayal of women in television. Instead of being a ditz, comic relief or a mere love interest, Scully was a doctor, an agent and an independent woman. Her skepticism and logic-driven beliefs flipped the traditional role of women in science fiction as emotional, passionate believers. Instead, it was Mulder who believed and Scully who wondered.
“The X-Files” wasn’t just about its two leads, however. It dealt with serious topics and issues, and stimulated thought, making itself the closest thing to “The Twilight Zone” in the modern television era until “Lost.” And its monsters of the week were, for the most part, engrossing and yes, absolutely disturbing at times. As they should be.
When we pick up with Mulder and Scully again, this time in 2016, things will definitely change. While they ended the original series as a couple, they have (to the chagrin of fans everywhere) broken up. Mulder, according to Duchovny, is not the man we last saw.
“He’s wearing bad jeans, so you can just extrapolate from my wardrobe. He’s in a dark, dark place,” he said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Both Mulder and Scully are living in a completely different world than the one they became famous in. They enter a post 9-11 world of drones, satellite technology, and the Internet. But not everything has changed. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) is returning, as is the ever-menacing Smoking Man (William B. Davis). And despite their undoubtedly complicated history, Mulder and Scully’s combative relationship looks to be continuing. Additionally, a few new faces including “The Flash” actor Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose are joining the cast as newer agents.
Yes, things have definitely changed since “The X-Files” left the air in 2002. But the truth is still out there, and no matter when or where it is, Mulder and Scully will find it.
“The X-Files” returns on Jan. 24, 2016, on Fox.
